Shadows of the past
by Phoenix Seraphina
Summary: She has been missing for almost 6 years. But no one in the soul society stopped looking. Ichigo and Uryu know something about her, but have not told them anything. What is the connection between these two boys and her? Where has she been all this time? A story of love, friendship, lies, truths, enmity, and Shadows of the Past. (Read the story to find out more:)
1. Emergency situation

**A/N: Hello bleach lovers, this is my first fanfiction so please excuse any mistakes. Also if you have any suggestions on how to improve the story please leave me a comment. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Also just a little mention, there are going to be a few OCs added to the story who will all be the main characters along with the shows main characters. There will also be changes in names later on in the story and I'll be posting the list of who's who at the end of each chapter with a character description. Ihope you like the story… Happy reading**

CHAPTER 1 – Emergency situation, a loved one attacked.

(Ichigo POV)

The soul society was in shambles after the war with Aizen, as usual. The peace and tranquillity of the seireitei has become almost non-existent. I was at the squad 4 barracks pacing around in the lawn when Captain Ukitake walked up to me.

"Ichigo, can I have a word with you?" he said with the straightest face he could manage. I knew immediately that something was wrong and it involved a certain someone special to us.

We walked to the end of the lawn and out of everyone's hearing range. Just then the captain started to set up an auditory and visual illusion of sorts to make people believe we were having a very normal conversation. Something must be very wrong if it has got him so paranoid.

"What's the matter? You seem paranoid!" I asked him trying not to show my concern. If he was already so worried, my concern for him would only add to his burden.

The captain let out a breath before he responded.

"You can drop the formality now. No one will know what we are actually talking about." he said. I could tell he was panicking.

"First of all, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath in and let it out" I told him in a stern voice. He looked at me with a ' _really?!'_ look and I responded with my own ' _really."_ look. He complied and did as I said.

"Now, tell me what happened. What's gotten you so flustered?"

"I just got word that about half an hour ago Dezzi was attacked in Los Angeles. She has been admitted in Hope general hospital. They are saying she is in very critical condition. I don't know what to do. I'm worried about her, but I can't leave the soul society now." He explained, finally letting go of his held up breath. I could see the worry written all over his face.

"All right, I'll find a way to get out of the soul society ASAP. Don't worry, she's a strong girl. She'll be fine." I assured him and deep down, myself as well. I can't afford to breakdown in front of him. If he needs to be able to continue here without anyone finding out about our secret, he has to be able to continue doing his work without worrying.

"Your right. I shouldn't worry so much. I know she'll be fine. She takes after her mother in that department." He said, smiling as he remembered mom. I know for a fact that he misses her as much as I do. But we have work here and it needs to be done. We can't leave it unfinished.

"Well, I'll be going now. I need to sneak out of here without having to answer too many questions. I'll make sure to inform just enough people so as to not arouse suspicion." I said and began to leave.

Just as I was about to go towards the barrack exit, I heard the captain shout from behind me.

"Be careful and keep me updated. Ok? And if Desiree asks about me, tell her I'll be coming soon to see her and that I'll bring her favourite sweets as well." He said.

"Will do Dad! Will do!" I said as I headed out, going to see my little sister.

 **A/N: How did you like the story so far? As I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, there are a few OCs as main characters in this story. So Ichigo and captain Ukitake are not the only main characters. Please review and let me know if should change something.**


	2. Family

**A/N: So, a small spoiler alert. Some main character names will change in this chapter. I've tried to incorporate the introduction of these names as clearly as I can into the story. But just in case, I'll be posting a list of Who's who at the end of each chapter from here on out. Hope that will help:)**

CHAPTER 2 - Family

I walked to the squad 6 barracks where I knew Rukia was. She was the best person to inform if I was leaving. Dad would probably handle explaining to the Captains and I know exactly what explanation he would go with.

As I walked up to Byakuya's office, I heard voices coming from inside. Multiple people. I could make out Renji and Rukia. It also seemed as though Chad, Orihime and Uriyu were there. This is probably the best situation to have. I walked into the office and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me. It looked as though they were all arguing about something. I looked around the room. Just as I had thought, Orihime, chad, Uriyu, Renji and Rukia were there. Byakuya was at his desk trying to do his work.

I decided this was a good situation as any to explain my reason for leaving.

"I just came over to tell you guys that I have to go back home now. My dad is supposed to leave out of town for work. I have to go and look after my sisters. So I'll be leaving in in a few minutes." I explained. Everyone gave a shocked expression. I guess they never expected me to leave before my injuries were completely healed. Uriyu looked at me with one eyebrow raised, questioning me about what was going on. I nodded slightly to indicate that I would explain later. Luckily no one noticed this.

"Ichigo your injuries have not healed. You should stay till they get better. I'm sure Mr. Urahara would be more than willing to look after your sisters till you get back." Rukia tried to reason.

I decided to strengthen my reasoning **.**

"There is actually another reason I'm leaving early. I'm way behind on my studies and I'm trying to get into Tokyo University. With the way my attendance is, I already need to take extra credit classes during the summer break. If I go now, I could probably reduce the number of extra credit classes I need to take and get my grades up. The university entrance exams are only 3 months away. If I want to get into TU, I need to get really great results in the exams. So I have to leave." I explained further.

Everyone regarded me seriously. Most people probably thought I wasn't serious about my studies and higher education. They didn't know how wrong they were. I hoped no one asked about it. And that's when Orihime came to my rescue. I knew it was a good idea to keep her in the loop, even though it was a risk considering she can't really keep secrets to herself.

"Well, you always did get very good scores in your exams until the whole soul reaper madness started. You still do, considering that all your grades are way above average if not at the top! So I guess it makes sense that you would be applying to TU. A lot of people used to admire you because you were so relaxed but still got such good grades!" she said. That seemed to clear a lot of the suspicion out of everyone's mind.

"Well well, so you're a nerd, eyh. I didn't picture you for one." Renji joked as he got a glare from me.

Just then Uryu appeared in front of me.

"I think I'll leave as well. Even I need to catch up on my classes before the entrance exams." he said.

I knew he must have guessed that something was wrong. Rukia gave him a suspicious look. I noticed Byakuya looking in our direction. He didn't show it but I could tell that he was suspicious as well. Like brother like sister I guess.

It was Orihime again who got rid of their suspicions.

"Well, Uryu was always at the top 10 of the class. So I guess it's not that surprising especially since you are planning to take over your dad's hospital!" she thought out loud.

Thank you Orihime! Thanks to her Uryu and I don't have to explain any further. The explanation also seemed to satisfy Rukia and Byakuya.

We said our goodbyes and walked to the senkaimon. On the way, I could feel curiosity getting the better of him. So I decided to start the explanation myself.

"So, first of all don't freak out. Ok?" I said to him.

He looked at me with a serious expression. "Fine, but will you just tell me what's going on? I getting worried here."

I heaved a sigh and began.

"Dad came up to me about 10 minutes ago. He said that he Dezzi was attacked in LA about half an hour back. She is in critical condition and has been admitted in Hope general hospital there. I don't know any more details, but dad was getting really worried. So I decided to go and visit her and mom." I told him.

"Well, there is no doubt that I'm coming with you. But first we need to go back to Karakura town and inform uncle Ishiin, uncle Ryuken, Karin and Yuzu about this. That way we'll be able to maintain our cover story if someone comes asking." Uryu said.

"Yeah, and once we've done that, all of us should go to Los Angeles. Mom and the twins could probably use the support. Plus I really want to stop calling you and the others by these names. I feel like I'm going to forget my real name if I keep up this identity for even a day longer." I said in frustration. I took all the control I had to make sure I didn't accidently let our real names slip out when talking in front of others who don't know our secret. I really want to go back to being called by my real name even if it is for just one day.

As we got closer to the senkaimon, I noticed dad standing near it with the door open. Captain Kyoroku, Captain Soifon, Toshiro, Rangiku, Izuru, Shusei, Rukia and all the others were there. I guess word got out faster than expected.

As we got closer, Captain Kyoroku and Captain Komamura walked up to us.

"We heard you were leaving already." Captain Kyoroku commented.

"Yeah, I have university entrance exams to study for and my dad's going out of town, so I need to go and look after my sisters." I explained.

They must have been informed that Uryu was leaving because of entrance exams as well cause they didn't question him about it.

"Well, we just wanted to express our gratitude for what you have done for us and the whole world. You have saved all our lives, Ichigo Kurosaki." Captain Komamura said bowing his head. I hate it when people bow their heads. It's my duty after all. It's what I was born to do.

"It's nothing captain. I'm just glad I could help." I said. Uryu was getting impatient. I could tell that dad was too.

"We won't keep you any longer. Study well, and we hope to see you soon and hopefully under better circumstances." Captain Kyoroku said, holding his straw hat as the wind blew.

We said goodbye to everyone and nodded a slight bye to dad before going into the senkaimon.

 **10 minutes later…**

We had gotten out of the senkaimon near the bridge. We looked in all directions and made sure Urahara or anyone who knew our identities as Ichigo and Uryu were not present nearby. We quickly walked to my house or rather Uncle Ishiin's clinic. I closed the door behind me as we entered. Uryu switched on the sound proofing mechanism. Now no one could hear anything we said.

Just then Karin and Yuzu came to the doorway along with uncle Ishiin. When they noticed the sound proof system had been switched on, they dropped their Kurosaki family acting and went back to their normal selves.

"What's the matter Ichigo, you boys don't look too happy to be back? Is something wrong?" Uncle Ishiin asked.

"First of all can we stop calling each other by these names? It's really getting annoying. I get that these are our Japanese names, but unlike Dezzi we never actually used them. I'd rather be called by my English name. It's the name I'm familiar with." Uryu said.

"I agree. I would rather like to refer to my master as my master or in a more respectful way than I have to in this" I said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Alright, Ian, care to tell us what's got you and Josh so upset?" Uncle Ivan asked us in a serious tone, looking at me and Uryu respectively.

Damn, I've gotten so used to calling and thinking of josh as Uryu that I can't think of his name as josh anymore. It going to take some time to get back to normal.

So I explained the situation to them and the atmosphere in the clinic got tense.

"I'll go call 'Uncle Ryuken', oops, I mean 'Uncle Seff'. I'll explain the situation and the plan to him. By the time he gets here, we can pack all the things we need for the trip and be ready to leave when he gets here with the car." Yuzu said keeping her cheerful Yuzu Kurosaki attitude in case someone was watching the house.

"I'll start packing everyone's stuff. You guy get fresh so we can leave" Karin, said as she went upstairs.

Uncle Ivan set up the clinic to indicate that he was out of town.

About 5 minutes had passed, when uncle Seff's car (which most people would not be able to recognize as his) pulled up in front of the clinic we piled in, locking the door to the house behind us. Josh and I set up an undetectable illusion which would make it look as though we were home but didn't want to be disturbed. Uncle Seff also made sure that one of his servants at his mansion was always there to inform anyone who came asking that Josh was studying and didn't want to be disturbed.

Half an hour later….

We were now a safe distance away from Karakura town, I started to chant,

 _Jin tori umi hachi go san shin zen  
_

I did the various hand signs associated with the words.

 _Return…._

Immediately, Karin and Yuzu, my _shikigami_ disappeared and left behind the paper doll forms. Now it was only the four of us, Uncle Ivan, Uncle Seff, Josh and myself.

We headed to the airport where our private jet was waiting for us. We got in and immediately fell asleep, waiting till the pilot announced that we had reached LA.

 **A/N: As mentioned earlier, here is the first list of the characters whose names have changed:**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ian**

 **Uryu ishida – Joshua**

 **Ryuken ishida – Seff**

 **Ishiin kurosaki – Ivan**

 **There will be additions made to the list as more names are revealed along with the OCs as well. Also, I'll be adding the surnames in the next chapter. So keep guessing and tell me what you think is their last name. I hope you like the story. If you have any inputs please do let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading:)  
**


	3. Desiree

CHAPTER 3 – Desiree

As we exited the airport, we saw our car and our driver, Hiro, waiting for us. It seems mom had known we would be coming. So she had instructed Hiro to bring us directly to the hospital. When we got there, we went straight to the VIP wing and entered the very first room. It was the room assigned to our family, since we own the hospital. Anyone from our family or is a friend of ours gets to use that room when being treated there.

What we saw when we entered the room was quite amusing. Dezzi was up and awake, wrestling with mom who was trying to get her to eat some food.

"I'm guessing that's the hospital food assigned for your condition!" I said out loud. Realising that we had arrived, mom and Dezzi settled down enough for mom to greet us all. Dezzi looked very happy to see us. I could tell she missed us a lot. I missed her too. The three years we were gone felt like centuries without mom Dezzi and the twins.

Just then, uncle Seff brought me out of my thoughts.

"Desiree, what exactly happened? How did you get injured so badly?" he asked her in a grave voice.

That was when I noticed it. Even though she was awake, Desiree looked pale. Her arms, and legs were covered in bandages. She had a large bandage running over her forehead as well.

She looked down at the ground and began to explain.

"I was out on my way to meet Noah. We were supposed to have dinner together. I waited at the restaurant entrance for about 5 minutes, when I saw him at the end of the road. He was coming towards me. I was waving to him to indicate I was there, so I didn't notice a car pull up beside me. And when I did, the driver took out an AK47 and shot at me. I could hear Noah calling out my name as he ran to me. Then everything went blank. Next thing in know I woke up in the hospital bed with Noah, and mom right beside me."

As she finished explaining, the door to the room opened. Lisa and Lina came rushing in. we could tell they had just finished their work and rushed over. They were still in their formal attire.

"Hey, sis, how did the design meet go? Did they like the new collection?" Desiree enquired.

My younger twin sister, stood there unamused as Dezzi tried to divert attention from herself.

"Desiree Kyra Cross, how many times do have to tell you to be more aware of your surroundings. As it is our line of work is dangerous and our family has tons of enemies. And on top of that, the next head of the family is barely careful about anything, what are we supposed to do with!" Lisa screamed.

"Well, since we are using full names, dear Lisa Mary Cross, for your information I was being very aware. I just wasn't paying attention when I was waving to Noah showing him where I was, since he was looking for me in the crowd. Satisfied?!" Dezzi retorted.

"Now girls, is that the way you talk to one another? You not teens anymore. Being the 22 and 25 year olds you are, you should be more mature in the way you talk." uncle Seff stated. He let out a sigh.

Things will never change. This was just another one of the days when Lisa's love and protectiveness of Dezzi turns into words of anger when she doesn't look after herself. I can't blame her. Danger is literally drawn to Dezzi. And yet she never takes care of herself. She's too casual about her life. It worries everyone in the family including Noah.

Then as if to break the sudden silence in the room, Uncle Ivan spoke up.

"So Dezzi, do you remember what the guys who shot you looked like?" he enquired.

Dezzi smirked. "Even better, I know their names." She said casually.

"WHAT!" everyone screamed in unison.

"Who were they?" I asked, trying to bring myself out of the shock.

"The Tsuchigumos. That yakuza family who have it out for our family cause of that incident. You know, the one when dad was on a mission and ended up killing one of their brothers in order to save millions of lives" she finished.

"You mean that mission when dad was still a CIA agent? I thought we had settled things between the families after they killed Kyle." Lina spoke up.

At the mention of Kyle's name everyone went silent. I looked out of the corner of my eye at Uncle Ivan. I could almost see tears in his eyes as he remembered his son and how he died right in front of our eyes.

 **Flashback: (4 years ago – Ichigo POV)**

It was Kyle's and my 24th birthday party. Although our birthdays were a month apart, they were always celebrated together. Even at this age it was like a family tradition to have a party. But since Kyle's mother, aunt Masaki had died a few months back, we had decided to have a small celebration consisting of just family.

We had set up to go for a dinner at one of LA's highest ranked Michelin star chef's restaurant. We had a pleasant dinner.

"I have some designs to finish before the meeting tomorrow, so do you mind if I go home early" Dezzi asked.

When our parents approved, and she saw that we didn't mind, she wished us both a happy birthday giving a small peck on each of our cheeks and took the car home.

About an hour or so later, the car had returned to pick us all up.

What we found at home shocked everyone.

The head of the Tsuchigumo family, Saoname Tsuchigumo, held Desiree by her hair and held a knife to her throat. His men had guns trailed on her back.

Mom started shaking in fear. Anger started to build up in dad as he saw the Tsuchigumo head bring the knife closer to her throat, enough to cause a scratch.

"So this is your daughter I've heard so much about!" Saoname snickered.

"Himera, was it, or do you go by your American name when in America." He questioned in a mocking tone.

Desiree didn't seem faced. She was so used to being in a situation like that. After all she had been in so many similar situations because of who we are and our work.

"My name is Desiree when in America. I would prefer if you call me by that name and no other." She said in a totally displeased tone.

He probably noticed my shocked expression for Saoname started to explain.

"Yes, I do know your family secret. I have contacts who informed me of the special taskforce run by the Kusanagi family that deals with 'special cases' although he wasn't able to tell me what kind of cases it is you guys deal with, he was able to show me a picture of the Kusanagi family, which is you guys." He continued to explain. A sinister look crossed his face, and it sent chills down all our spines.

"Let her go. She doesn't have anything to do with this." Dad shouted at him.

The yakuza head laughed out hysterically. He was enjoying the whole scene in front of him. And as he laughed, he brought the knife closer to Dezzi's throat, causing the scratch to become a deeper cut.

Dezzi let out a slight hiss as the blade burned against the cut.

"STOP IT." Kyle screamed as he lunged towards the yakuza. Anger and rage glittered in his eyes as he easily took down the 8 yakuza henchmen who came at him.

As Kyle stood in front of Saonome panting, the yakuza head pulled Desiree closer to him. He let go of the knife and instantly pulled out a gun from his coat.

"One step closer and she gets it in the head" he shouted. As he held the gun to her head, Desiree reached behind her and pulled out something from her belt.

It was her ivory handle dagger. She pulled it out slowly and in an instant was free from the yakuza's grasp. The yakuza lay on the floor struggling to breathe as he tried to cover the slash on his neck. The rest of us immediately handled the remaining henchmen. As we called the FBI to come and collect them, I heard a gunshot.

When I turned around, I saw Desiree lying on the ground and Kyle standing in her place. As Desiree got up, Kyle fell down. He had pushed Desiree out of the way and got shot himself.

Desiree couldn't control herself. She ran to his side.

"Ky stay with me. Keep your eyes open. I'm going to start treating you ok. You'll be fine after that." Dezzi frantically muttered as she pulled off her leather jacket and pressed it against his gun shoot wound.

"Someone get me the first-aid kit. PLEASE." She screamed at us. Tears started to roll down her face.

I could tell from the amount of blood loss that he wasn't going to make it. I think Dezzi realised that too.

"Dezzi, stop crying. You know as well as I do that I'm not going to make it. So before I go I want to tell you one last thing." Kyle struggled to speak. Desiree wiped away her tears as she looked at him. Her face was red from crying but I could tell she was trying to put a smile on her face for Ky's sake.

"I want you to take very good care of yourself and of everyone else. You are a very important person to this world Desiree. You are the reincarnation of Yukina Kusanagi and that will lead to a lot more people coming after you than there already are. But you must never give up hope. Never forget that you are human too. You are allowed to have feelings. Live your life to the fullest and don't forget that you have people you can depend on. Lean on them and take their support. Don't every think you are alone." Kyle said. I could see the life draining out of him as his ghost slowly started to form in front of us.

"I have to go know. But know that I will always love you my little fairy princess" he said, smiling his last smile as he said Desiree's nickname.

As he fully materialized in front of us in his ghost form, he turned to the rest of us especially his dad

"I see the other side dad. Mom's there, waiting for me." he said. I knew it was to reassure Uncle Ivan but everyone one sees something different on the other side when they pass on. So I can't be sure he didn't see aunt Masaki.

"Take care of her, all of you." he said as he slowly disappeared. Kyle Cross was gone.

About 3 days after that incident, dad, Uncle Ivan, josh and I went to the Tsuchigumo mansion.

The new head had been named, Saoname's son Arashi. He seemed like a good kid. He was looking to turn the yakuza business into a legitimate one. We had a discussion with him where we made a deal that as long as the family business didn't turn into a front for the yakuza dealings, we would stay away from them. They agreed to do the same as long as we didn't interfere with their lives.

 **End of flashback…**

I have been keeping track of the business on both the formal and back ends. The business remains legal and legitimate.

"I guess some people in the family probably didn't agree with Arashi's idea of making the business clean. And they probably still want revenge for Saoname's death." I said out loud.

Silence filled the room as everyone contemplated my statement.

"You are probably right about that" mom said. She hadn't uttered a word since the conversation had started.

"That's why I've decided that for at least the next few months we will all move to Karakura town. I don't want my family divided any longer considering the increasing dangers around us. I think it is best if we stay together. We'll be able to handle any situation if we are together. And plus we haven't reviewed the Karakura town branch of the business. It'll be a good change of scene for the rest of us as well" mom explained referring to herself the twins and Desiree.

"Does that mean we are going to reveal to the soul society our true identity, cause don't forget, Karakura town is a highly spiritual area, there are always soul reapers of lieutenant and captain levels appearing. If they see Dezzi and recognize her or even hear and recognize our surnames, there is going to be a lot of complication." Josh stated.

"He's right. But if Dezzi is fine with it and we are ok with eventually explaining the whole situation to them then, we should be fine." I completed.

"I'm ok with it. Even if it is for a little while, I want to see japan again and if possible even the soul reapers from a distance. By the way, how is everyone? Did my healing spell work?" Dezzi questioned.

I knew she was referring to the protection spell she had placed on everyone during the Aizen battle. It prevented anyone from our side from dying, but can't prevent injuries.

"It worked perfectly. No one died, well except of course Aizen and his people. But otherwise everyone is fine. You did a good job of hiding its signature too. No one noticed the spell. Not even Head Captain Yamamoto." I said, feeling proud of my sister's skills as a witch.

"I think it's best if we explain the situation to urahara and Yoroichi so they can handle coming up with a working explanation for the soul reapers who decide to pop up in Karakura town." Uncle Ivan stated.

He's right. The more help we have, the easier it'll be to hide our true identities. But that also means…

"Are we going by Kusanagi or some made up surname when we are there?" Dezzi asked reading my mind.

"Well go by Kusanagi. I don't wish to disrespect the family name any more than we have to. It is better if we keep the name. If any soul reaper does come to hear of us and recognises the name, they might come to meet us. Then we'll just have to hide you from them." mom told Desiree.

"Then it is settled. Well leave the day after tomorrow when Desiree gets discharged from here." Uncle Seff concluded.

I have a feeling our situation is going to get complicated very soon.

 **A/N: How did you guys like the chapter. Ichigo and the others along with the rest of the family will be going to Karakura town, so all the names will go back to being Japanese again.**

 **Here is the name list again**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ian cross**

 **Uryu ishida – Josh cross**

 **Ryuken ishida – Seff cross (younger brother of Sarah Cross)**

 **Ishiin kurosaki – Ivan cross**

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Rowan cross (father of Ichigo, Uryu, Desiree, Lisa and Lina; older brother of Ishiin)**

 **The names of the OCs are:**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – youngest Cross sibling (Dezzi)**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Twin of Lina, younger sister of Ichigo and Uryu**

 **Lina Melissa cross – twin of Lisa and younger sister of Ichigo and Uryu**

 **Sarah Elizabeth cross – wife of Jushiro Ukitake, mother of Ichigo, Uryu, the twins and Desiree, older sister of Ryuken and sister-in-law of Ishiin.**

 **The Japanese names list will be posted at the end of the next chapter after they are all revealed in the story.**


	4. Plan of action

**A/N: There is a small change to the name list so here it is:**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Younger brother of Sarah cross)**

 **Ishiin kurosaki – Ivan cross (younger brother of Jushiro/Rowan)**

 **This is a filler chapter to explain a few details which I won't be able to explain clearly through the story. Enjoy.**

CHAPTER 4 – Plan of action

(Ichigo POV)

We had just arrived in Narita airport. Noah had already arrived the day before to setup both his hous and our house.

When we exited the airport, Noah, or Raiden which is his Japanese name, was waiting for us near our limousine.

Once in the limo, we started to come up with our cover story for the soul society.

"So, this is the cover story we will be using." Uncle Seff, I mean uncle Ryuken started.

"Sis, you are Ichigo's aunt, Saya Kusanagi, who lives in America and since Ishiin is out of town and _Karin and Yuzu_ are 'on a school trip', Ichigo will be staying with you, the twins and Himera."

After a small pause, he continued to explain.

"Until and unless people recognise our last name, let it just be known to people of the soul society that you are all aware of the existence of spirits but are defenceless against them. If ever there is a need for some of the soul reapers to stay over," He paused again to look at me.

"Ichigo, you will use the excuse of not wanting to drag them into any danger and will make any visiting soul reaper, no matter who it is, stay at the clinic. Is everyone clear on the cover story?" Uncle Ryuken concluded, looking at all of us.

We nodded in response to his question.

"Will Josh… I mean Uryu be staying with mom or will be staying with you uncle Ryuken?" I asked him.

"He will be staying with your mom and sisters as well. I'll cover for him if necessary. Just make sure that when you both leave for school, you take different routes. We don't want people to get suspicious especially since the _Ishida_ mansion is in the opposite direction of the clinic and Kusanagi mansion. Also, everyone please remember to call one another by your Japanese names." He stated.

"As for the cover story of how Uryu knows the Kusanagi family, we can explain that being in the hospital business together, the families had gotten to meet and had become close friends. So, Himera and the twins could be counted as Uryu's childhood friends."

"Will do uncle Ryuken, but before that I need everyone to understand my cover story as well" Himera said.

"Asagi and Asami are not very well-known faces in the media, they are only known by name. But I on the other hand am a celebrity-socialite. So my cover is slightly different. I am here on a break from my celebrity life, with my mom and older twin sisters, to visit our relatives, the kurosaki family, and to check on our Karakura town branch of the business. So as much as possible I'll be staying away from the media." she explained.

"As for my Japanese name, since it is public knowledge, calling me by my Japanese name should not raise suspicion. But coming in any form of social media could potentially lead to any soul reaper identifying me." she explained, taking a deep breath after she finished.

"Ok, but will you be ok with looking after Kira?" Uncle Ryuken asked. I had almost forgotten that Kyle's son was staying with Uncle Ryuken, after all he was Kira's maternal grandfather!

I knew how much Himera loved Kira, and as I suspected, she gladly agreed to look after the boy she loved like her own son.

We reached the Kusanagi mansion about 5 minutes after the conversation. It was in the outskirts of the town, about 10 minute walk from the Kurosaki clinic. The mansion itself was a 3-story building about 3 times the size of a baseball field. It has a backyard of about 10 hectares with a garden that leads to a forest. There was a swimming pool behind the mansion, which was the size of a regular football field. Basically it was a very, very big area.

We went into the mansion as Noah… I mean Raiden, left for his family mansion that was right next to ours and about as big as ours. We went into our rooms and after unpacking met in the dining area to discuss the next course of action.

"We need to tell Urahara and Yoroichi about the whole situation. Orihime already knows about it, but her help alone won't be enough to cover our identities in this town. It's always crawling with high ranking soul reapers. Anyone one of them could recognise Himera!" Uryu exclaimed.

We were all worried about Himera being recognised.

"If not Urahara, we need to at least inform Yoroichi, cause if we want to avoid the soul society and especially captain Sui Feng from finding out about Himera, we need Yoroichi's help, and it's the least they can do for us after everything we have done for them." I said

"Me staying away from anyone from the soul society is the best way to keep them safe from the dangers we face." Himera said. She had a sad look in her eyes. I could tell she missed everyone in the soul society.

"Then it's decided, we will talk to both Urahara as well as Yoroichi and explain the situation. But it would be better if we have the conversation here at the mansion. You never know who might pop up in Urahara's shop." Uncle Ryuken stated.

With that we finished the meeting and decided how we would proceed with the day. It was decided the uncle Ryuken would drop off Kira in the evening after which we would call Urahara and Yoroichi over to talk.

It was decided that Himera would drop Kira off and pick him up from school every day and will always use a different route so no one can follow her by establishing a pattern. She would handle the office during the day, and then her _night job_ later in the evening.

We also decided that in order to make it less suspicious, Himera, Asagi and Asami will be my older cousin sisters. That way no one in school or the soul society would suspect me of lying about my identity.

 **A/N: I would like to thank everyone who is regularly reading my story. I would really appreciate it if you could review/favourite/follow or do all of those. It would really help boost my confidence in the story. Here is the name list again:**

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Jushiro Kusanagi – rowan cross**

 **Sarah Cross –Saya Kusanagi (wife of Jushiro and mother of Ichigo, Uryu, Himera/Desiree, Asami/Lisa, Asagi/Lina)**

 **Ishiin Kurosaki – Ishiin Kusanagi – Ivan Cross (younger brother of Jushiro)**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Japanese last name to be revealed later) (younger brother of Sarah)**

 **Ichigo Kurosaki – Ichigo Kusanagi – Ian cross**

 **Uryu Ishida – Uryu Kusanagi – Josh cross**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – Himera Kusanagi**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Asami Kusanagi**

 **Lina Melissa cross – Asagi Kusanagi**

 **Noah Knight – Raiden (Last name will be revealed later)**

 **Kira Kusanagi – (son of Kyle cross(Ishiin's son) and Ryuken's daughter)**

 **I hope everyone is excited to know the connection between Desiree/Himera and the soul society, her "night job", as well as what she meant about her being a "Celebrity – Socialite". Hope you like the story so far, and please to review/favourite/follow.**

 **Thanks for reading.  
**


	5. Secrets and lies (part 1)

CHAPTER 5 – Secrets and lies - Part 1

(Ichigo POV)

It took us till evening to get fully settled in our house. Everyone was preparing for the arrival of Kira, making sure no small pieces were left in places accessible to his height. I was leaving to Urahara's shop to tell him to come over to the mansion to talk. As I got closer to the shop, I could sense the presence of a different person in the shop, a familiar spiritual pressure but not one that I would usually notice in Urahara's shop. Just to be on the safe side, I released me spiritual pressure and hid the presence of my shiki (short for shikigami) who I always keep ready for emergencies. That way the new person would not be able to notice them.

As I walked closer, I realised who the guest at the shop was….

I walked into the store and was greeted by Ururu. She indicated silently that someone was there and they were discussing something important.

I reached the back room and just as I had suspected, I opened the door to reveal, the one and only Captain of squad 2, Sui Feng. Calm down Ichigo, remember your training. Don't let the person inform of you catch on to your true emotions.

"Ah, Ichigo, I was just about to call you over." Urahara said in his usual, happy-carefree tone.

"Well, I'm here, so what did you want me for, and what brings you here captain? Is there some new enemy here that needs to be looked into?" I asked hoping I didn't seem too curious.

"Actually, I'm here to make a personal request to you Ichigo Kurosaki." Captain Sui Feng said in a not so pleased tone. I could tell she didn't like having to depend on me. But I wonder what she wants?

"Before I tell you what I need form you, there is a story I need to tell you." she said. That was when I occurred to me. I prepared myself to hear the story that I already knew in more detail than she did.

"This happened about 15 years ago." she began

"There was an incident that took place. A young girl, about 7 years old was accidently transported to the soul society. She wasn't dead and yet she got transported straight into the seireitei. We were having a captain's meeting back then and right in the middle of it the guards dragged her into the hall to show her to the head captain."

During the short pause, I looked at Urahara out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to have been informed about the incident for he had a grim look on his face as though recollecting a past event. I guess he was probably told about this right before I came or Yoroichi informed him when the incidents happened.

"The girl was screaming, asking the captains around her to tell the guards to let her go. She cried so much, it was hard to watch. The guards dropped her right in front of the head captain. He looked down on her and saw how young she was. He reprimanded the guards for being so brash with a child and sent them off." She stated.

"After that the head captain asked her to tell everyone how she had died. But that was when we were shocked to realise that she wasn't dead. She claimed to have been standing in the forest and was suddenly sucked into a bright light, and the next thing she knew she was surrounded by the patrolling guards." The captain paused again.

I took the opportunity to make it seemed as though I was actually curious to know more.

"What happened after that? Did they figure out how a living girl got transported to the soul society, and more importantly straight into the seireitei?" I asked. I already knew the answer, but it would raise suspicion if 'Ichigo Kurosaki' didn't ask any questions.

"They didn't, and we were not able to figure out a way to send her back immediately either. So it was decided that she would stay within the seireitei just to be on the safer side. If any rouges found out that a living girl was transported to the soul society unharmed, they might come after her thinking she might be able to get them back to the living world." She said.

I nodded in understanding.

"Then the situation came as to who will take care of her. None of the men were adept to look after a young girl like her. So she was left in captain Unohana's care."

For the first time, I saw captain Sui Feng smile when she wasn't beside Yoroichi. I knew what had happened, but I still find it odd.

"About 2 days after her arrival, everyone in the 13 court guard squads had heard about her. But more importantly, they were all talking about how cheerful she was even though she was away from home and with strangers. Everyone had taken a liking to her.

She began helping captain Unohana with the sick and injured. She was very good at it too, probably even better than the captain herself. But what caught us all by surprise was another incident." She stopped again.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It was a week after her arrival, she was in the Rukon district with captain Unohana to get some specific herbs. At that time a fight broke outside the shop. The captain and the girl rushed out to see what had happened." She stopped again. She seemed to be trying to recall the specifics of the event.

"A group of bandits were attacking random people on the streets, taking their money and severely wounding them. Captain Unohana tried to keep the girl inside the shop, but she rushed out to help the injured. The bandit leader took the girl's action as an insult and tried to attack her. But then, something unexpected happened."

"What happened, did someone come to her rescue?" I asked, trying to keep my cool. It always irritated me to think about that incident.

"The girl saw the bandit raise his sword, and she started to scream. A large burst of spiritual pressure emerged from her, sending the bandit leader flying backwards. The rest of the bandits fled in fear. After treating the injured, captain Unohana brought the girl to the head captain. After a thorough examination of her, it was revealed that she had enough spiritual pressure to rival a 3rd seat soul reaper." She stated.

"But how did none of you guys notice her spiritual pressure before?" I questioned. I knew the answer, but I had to keep up the façade.

"It's more than likely that her spiritual pressure was dormant until that incident. The sense of danger nearing probably awakened her powers as a means of protection." Urahara explained.

"Anyway," Captain Sui Feng continued.

"With no way of sending her back home yet, it decided by the head captain that she would undergo a test, judged by the captains Kyoroku, Ukitake, Unohana and the head captain himself. After seeing the way she performed, they sent her to the academy. I guess you could say she is the prodigy of prodigies. She graduated from the academy within 3 months, going through all classes except the martial arts and sword skills, since she was still a kid. In the meantime, captain Kurotsuchi had managed to figure out a way to send her home. So once she had graduated from the academy, she was assigned to squad 4. It was decided that she would be allowed to come to the soul society whenever she could and work under captain Unohana's direction. She was escorted back to the real world by the lieutenant Kotetsu, who made sure the girl met her family before she returned to the soul society."

"We didn't hear from her for almost 2 months. But one day, she suddenly appeared in the soul society. She went to captain unohana, who brought her to the head captain. The Girl's mother had written a letter addressed to all the captains." She explained.

"Did the mother believe the girl's story?" I asked. Keeping up this charade was getting tired.

"Yes. It seems that the family for generations had been able to see spirits and soul reapers and so knew about our existence. When the girl told her mother about what had happened, she wrote a letter to us, saying that she would happily allow her daughter to help out in the soul society during her days off from school and during vacations and asked us to take care of the girl on her behalf."

"That's one daring mother, sending her daughter to a completely different world without hesitation." I said.

"It was actually a wise choice. If the girl had attracted any unwanted attention, the soul society was the best place to keep her safe from harm." Urahara interjected.

"As I was saying…" Captain Sui Feng interrupted.

"After that, the girl would come to the soul society every weekend and during her vacation. Within the first year under Captain Unohana, she managed to learn everything there was to know about healing kido spells. She even started to create new kido spells that enhanced the healing process even more, though she was the only one who was able to perform them. When there was not much work to be done in the squad barracks, she was allowed to walk around the seireitei and go from one squad's barracks to another and assist in any way she could. It was actually pretty cruel if you think about it, making an 8 year old girl do all the errands and odd jobs that no one wanted to do. But she didn't mind. She did it with a smile on her face and never complained.

Her helpful and cheerful nature won the hearts of almost every member of the court guard squads. She even managed to put a smile on Captain Kuchiki's face. She was also an enthusiastic learner. She would visit squad 12's lab whenever she could to learn about the research that captain Kurotsuchi was doing. She was very smart for her age. She managed to make the conniving captain kurotsuchi bow on his knees in front of her intelligence. There was almost no limit to what she could do. Everyone had grown very fond of her, especially me."

"What do you mean captain?" I asked her.

"Well, that year after her guidance under captain Unohana, she would do odd jobs for any and every squad. During that time, she came to the squad 2 barracks once. She saw the members of the squad training in the training grounds. I don't know what about it caught her eye, but she began to come regularly and watch us all train.

About 2 weeks later, during one of our regular captain's meetings, Captain Unohana suggested something very surprising. She asked that the girl be transferred to squad 2." The captain paused.

"Why, did something happen to her in squad 4?" I questioned the captain. Asking questions I already knew the answer to was just not my thing.

"No. When asked why she said that, the captain explained that she had noticed the girl was trying to perform moves and fighting techniques used by squad 2, but was unable to perform them. She suggested that it might be good for her in the long run to be able to observe the training of professional fighters so she can learn to fight once she is older, and that she might be able to help our squad with other jobs as well." She paused again.

"What did you do then? Did you let her join your squad?" I asked.

"You ask too many questions, and yes I finally agreed to let her join. I wasn't too pleased about it at first. Having a kid in an elite squad like squad 2 was not a joke. I asked her to do all sorts of jobs other than the actual fighting. I knew she was very smart. But I believed that everyone was exaggerating her intelligence because she was a kid. But one day, she was observing the punishment squad train with me when a messenger came and informed us that there had been a breach in the west Rukon district. A garganta had opened in the area and hollows were crossing over into the soul society." she said chuckling at the memory.

"The messenger provided all the details of the attack. It seemed that some over powerful hollow with the ability to turn into a mist. This made it difficult for the soul reapers to locate and attack him. We made a plan to stay in the area outside the mist and locate the hollow. But then the girl came up to me." she said.

"The girl stated that if we were to follow such a plan we could potentially end up hurting our own squad members. I knew she was right, but I didn't like being told that my plan had flaws. So I asked her if she had a better plan… and she did! Her plan was so perfect and fool-proof that it stunned all of us. We decided to follow her plan and we succeeded in both killing the hollow as well as closing the garganta. That was the first time I had witnessed for myself how smart she really was. I realised that everyone was not exaggerating about her. I decided to watch over her. She had managed to win my heart and trust. Do you know what I decided to have her become in the squad?"

I just nodded in response. I had been curious to know for a very long time.

"She was too good to not put in a position that would utilize her abilities. But she was not battle equipped. She was bad at fighting and was too young to go into the battle field anyway. So I created a position especially for her. The position didn't demand that she leave the barracks and go into a fight. Rather, it allowed her to help when needed without putting her life at risk."

"What help did she provide exactly, I mean how did she lead the force if she didn't go with them?" I asked.

"The position I gave her was that of a strategist. She would get the details she needed about a battle, analyse it and strategize the best course of action. Many times, members of other squads, lieutenants and captains even would come to her for advice on the best battle strategy. She even had strategies that would easily defeat the head captain, or any soul reaper for that matter."

"As the time went by, she grew into a very smart and kind young girl. She was still no good at fighting. But she had made her way to becoming the head strategist for all of the 13 court guard squads. She had a team working under her that would gather all the information she needed and she would analyse it and provide the squads with their strategy for battle. We grew very close, she was like the little sister I never had. After lady Yoroichi, she was the first person I opened my heart to. The year she was turning 16, that is 6 years ago, she was due to come during her school break. But she never turned up. We thought she might have been caught up with some school or family issue. But an entire year passed by. She never came." She said looking at the ground. Her voice quivered in sadness.

"We all got worried, so it was decided that I along with a hand full of lieutenants and 2 other captains would come to this word and look for her, with lieutenant Kotetsu leading the way to the girl's house. We obtained gegai from urahara and went looking for her. When we arrived at her house, her neighbours informed us that there had been an accident there and that the girl had died during the accident. The family moved out of the country after the accident. When we investigated on our own, we uncovered residual spiritual pressure of a hollow. The girl had been attacked by a hollow." She concluded her explanation.

"So what is it you want me to do? I mean when you first mentioned that she disappeared, I assumed you wanted me to look for her. But if she's dead, wouldn't it be better to look for her in the Rukon district?" I asked her. Did she suspect that the girl was still alive? If that was the case, we have a problem on our hands.

"I don't believe she's dead. She may not have been able to fight the hollow, but she is smart enough to find a way to safely escape from the hollow. I believe she is out there, on her own. I fear she may be lost or in need of help."

Then the captain did something I never expected her to do…

"Please, Ichigo Kurosaki, please help me in my search for her. Please find her, find her" she said, bowing to me and weeping. Well this was a surprising turn of events!

"Captain, please raise your head. I'll help you look for her. But I need her name. What was the girl's name?" I asked. This was not the best situation we could be in right now. But I'll just have to find a way to deal with it.

"Her name was… is, Yukihime Akatsuki, but her friends call her Yuki or Yume. She has 2 older brothers and sisters. She would be about 22 years old this year. Please, find her." she said.

I nodded in response and reassured her that I will look into it. After that she left to the soul society via a senkaimon, leaving urahara and I alone in the room.

"Well, care to tell me what the reason for your visit is Ichigo?" Urahara prompted.

"Actually, I'm here to invite you, Yoroichi and Tessai. There are some people I need you to meet, and they want to talk to you. So, I need you guys to come to this address. I'll be waiting for you outside. Also, dinner will be served there. So you can bring Ururu and Jinta as well." I said getting ready to leave.

"Oh and tell Yoroichi that she needs to come in her human form. Being in her cat form there will be not such a good idea." I told him. I saw his puzzled look as he looked from the address to me as I turned to leave.

Today was definitely going to be a long day.

 **A/N: Hope you liked the chapter, and I hope everyone's excited to find out how Ichigo knows the story. Also who do you think is Yukihime Akatsuki? Give me your answer through your reviews. Thanks for the support.**

 **Character name list:**

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Jushiro Kusanagi – Rowan cross**

 **Sarah Cross –Saya Kusanagi (wife of Jushiro and mother of Ichigo, Uryu, Himera/Desiree, Asami/Lisa, Asagi/Lina)**

 **Ishiin Kurosaki – Ishiin Kusanagi – Ivan Cross (younger brother of Jushiro)**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Japanese last name to be revealed later) (younger brother of Sarah)**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ichigo Kusanagi – Ian cross**

 **Uryu Ishida – Uryu Kusanagi – Josh cross**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – Himera Kusanagi**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Asami Kusanagi**

 **Lina Melissa cross – Asagi Kusanagi**

 **Noah Knight – Raiden (Last name will be revealed later)**


	6. Secrets and lies (part 2)

Chapter 6

Secrets and lies - part 2

(Ichigo POV)

I had informed Urahara to come at around 7. But knowing the guy, he'll probably come earlier out of curiosity. Everyone was ready and waiting for him. Uncle Ryuken was yet to drop of Kira because he was playing with his friends at school.

The twins and Himera were working on lyrics for the tune of Himera's next song. Mom was sitting on the couch. I could tell she was nervous about meeting Urahara without dad. Uryu and I were just pacing around.

Its half an hour to 7, I decided to wait outside. When I reached the gate of the mansion, I noticed Urahara peeking through the gaps, the shock of the location evident on his face. As I walked closer to the gate, I realised that they had not noticed me yet.

"I wonder if this is the right place?" Urahara said out loud.

"This is the address that Ichigo gave you. So I'm guessing is the right place." Yoroichi assured him.

"You are at the right place." I said as I reached the gate, opening it for them to come in.

They walked in hesitantly. I could literally read all the questions in their mind from the look on their faces. I tried very hard to control my laughter.

"Well, this way. Follow me." I said before they could ask me anything.

I led them to the mansion. As we reached the gate, I entered a pin into our electronic alarm system. It started to scan me and the others once it declared that we were not a danger, I rang the bell.

Jin, our housekeeper opened the door, letting us into the large lunge com hallway. Staircases ran to the send floor from either sides of the house. The living room and other rooms lay in the area behind the staircases.

I noticed our guests gawking at the sight before them. Then as though it finally occurred to him, Urahara spoke up.

"Whose house is this Ichigo?" he asked me.

"This is the Kusanagi mansion, belonging to the legendary Kusanagi family." My mom responded, entering the lunge area.

She came up to us and looked at me.

"Ichigo, bring our guests to the living room, everyone is waiting there." She said and left first. I followed behind her, leading our three guests into the living room. The twins, Uryu and uncle Ryuken were there. I guess uncle Ryuken must have entered by the back ate to avoid suspicion. That means that Himera was probably upstairs playing with Kira.

"Uryu, you're here too?" Yoroichi asked him a little surprised.

"We'll explain everything in a moment. But first please have a seat." I told them.

So I sat next to Uryu while the twins sat beside mom. Yoroichi, Urahara and Tessai sat facing mom.

The air was tense. So I decided to break the ice and begin explaining. I had already told everyone about my encounter with Captain Sui Feng, so everyone was aware that Yoroichi, Urahara and probably even Tessai were aware of the existence of Yukihime Akatsuki.

"There are a few things that we need to tell you. But before that, how about a round of introductions." I started.

"I'm Saya Kusanagi. I'm the lady of the house and the wife of the present head of the Kusanagi family." Mom introduced herself.

"I'm Asagi Karin Kusanagi. And this is my twin sister Asami Yuzu Kusanagi. We are the third and fourth children of the family." Asagi said as she introduced herself and Asami.

"Now it's time to formally introduce ourselves to you." I said to our guest, pointing at uncle Ryuken, Uryu and myself. Urahara, Yoroichi and Tessai were utterly confused.

"My name is Ichigo Ryo Kusanagi, and this is my older brother, Uryu Shin Kusanagi." I said pointing to myself and Uryu respectively.

"And I'm Ryuken Nura. I'm Saya's younger brother and the current head of the Nura family." Uncle Ryuken stated. This caught our guests completely off guard.

I gave them some time to compose themselves.

"But how is that possible. I know for a fact that you" Urahara said pointing at me "are Ishiin's son and you" pointing to Uryu, "are Ryuken's son. How is it possible that I got that wrong? I watched you boys grow up. So did Yoroichi and Tessai." He concluded. Yoroichi nodded in agreement while Tessai remained in deep thought.

"Does this have anything to do with the witch powers that the Kusanagi family is said to possess?" Tessai questioned. He sure is smart. He seems to also know a lot about our family.

"Yes it does. We cast a spell on you that implanted false memories of our life here in Karakura town as the sons of Uncle Ishiin and Uncle Ryuken. By the way, just so you know, Uncle Ishiin is our dad's younger brother." I answered.

"As all three of you may know, the Kusanagi family is not a pure Japanese family. We are and have been a family of Japanese-Western crosses. Our family has always married into our own kind. We rarely mix with normal people. This keeps the family abilities from spreading outside of our family circle. We don't want some random kid someday to suddenly discover that they have abilities considered to be a myth by the normal people." I continued.

"The abilities we are talking about are witchcraft/wizardry, Onmyodo, Quincy and Soul reaper abilities. These allow us to fight various kinds of supernatural creatures. The witchcraft and wizardry come in handy when fighting vampires, werewolves and other witches or wizards. Onmyodo helps in combatting demons, and the Quincy and soul reaper abilities allow us to combat hollows, Soul reapers, Bounts, Quincies and those kind of supernatural beings. For this reason our family name is synonymous with hunters of supernatural, thus earning us the title of 'Hunters'." Mom continued.

"This also means that we have a lot of enemies. Our family happens to be the strongest of our kind. And another speciality of our family is that among us there are many hybrids and tribrids." Asami stated.

"What do you mean by hybrids and tribrids?" Urahara questioned.

"Well as you may already know, it's uncommon for anyone, even a supernatural being to possess more than one ability. If you are a witch, you can't have the abilities of a Quincy or a Soul reaper or an Onmyoji. But there are some exceptions. Only 2 families in the whole world have the ability to possess more than one of the abilities. One of those families is the Cross family, or as you know us, the Kusanagi family." Asagi clarified.

"Ichigo is a Quincy-Soul reaper hybrid. Uryu is a warlock-Quincy hybrid. Mom is a Quincy-Witch hybrid, dad is a Soul reaper-Onmyoji hybrid. Asami is a Quincy-Witch-Onmyoji tribrid while I am a Soul reaper- Witch-Onmyoji tribrid." Asagi explained.

"Ok. So which is the other family that has hybrids and tribrids?" Yoroichi asked.

"Well, that would be the Yotsuba family. In fact, the Yotsuba mansion is the next door mansion." Uryu stated.

"Are they as powerful as you then?" Urahara questioned. This whole topic was peeking his interest as a researcher.

"They were. Yes." Mom said. But the look in her eyes gave away the sadness she felt at remembering her friends.

"What do you mean by were?" Yoroichi asked.

"The family is almost extinct. They died in a fire about 6 years ago. Only the son of the head family survived." Mom stated trying not to cry at the memory.

Just then I heard the door open. I knew who it was, so I didn't bother to go check. Within minutes, Raiden walked into the living room. Mom smiled at him and gestured for him to come over and sit down.

He greeted the guests and sat beside Uryu and me.

"And who might this be? Another son of yours?" Tessai spoke up for the first time since the beginning of our conversation.

"This is Raiden. You could say he is like a son to me." Mom replied.

"So, he's not your son?" Yoroichi continued.

"Why don't I let him answer your question?" Mom said, looking at Raiden.

"Ok, then. My name is Raiden. Raiden Yotsuba. I'm the current head and the only surviving member of the Yotsuba family. My English name is Noah Knight." He introduced himself.

The look on Yoroichi's face when he said his English name was one of recognition. She has hear of Noah. That probably means she has heard of our family as well.

"You said something about the Cross family. By any chance did you mean _the_ Cross family. One of top 3 richest families. The knight family is also part of that list right?" Yoroichi asked nearly jumping out of her seat.

"Yes, I did mean that Cross family. We were always rich, but it was my youngest daughter who raised us to the top 3 in the world. You could say it was her life's mission to make us the most powerful." Mom replied.

"Your youngest daughter, where is she?" Urahara asked.

"She's with my grandson at the moment." Ryuken answered.

"Your grandson! Ok, now I'm definitely confused." Urahara stated in a very hyper tone.

"Let me explain. I had a daughter named Sia Archer. Her Japanese name was Suzuna Nura. She, Ichigo and ishiin's son, Kyle, whose Japanese name was Kazuki were of the same age. But about 5 years ago, Suzuna and Kazuki fell in love and got married. Their son, Kira was born shortly after. But Suzuna was killed about a week after Kira was born. Then, 4 years ago, Kazuki died as well. Ever since Suzuna died, Himera has been Kira's mother. And after Kazuki dies as well, Himera became Kira's world. She is everything to him. To Kira, the only person he knows as a parent is Himera. And Himera loves Kira like her own son. If she was married, you wouldn't be able to say that they are not mother and son." Ryuken explained.

"I get the picture, but based on your story, Ichigo would have to be older than 16 years old, right?" urahara said tilting his head in confusion.

"You idiot, haven't you realised that yet. We all know that the cross family's older 2 sons are in their late 20s now, the oldest being 29 years old and the second being 28." Yoroichi said to him in a disappointed tone.

"Himera would be your younger daughter right ma'am?" Tessai asked mom in a polite manner.

"Yes, she is. Her name is Himera Akatsuki Kusanagi. Her English name as you might already know is Desiree Kyra Cross. Actually, the main reason we called you here today was to talk to you about some things related to her!" mom replied.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Urahara asked.

"How about I explain it mom." I cut in before mom could start. She nodded an ok and so I began.

"Before I start, Urahara, how much do you Tessai and Yoroichi know about the girl, Yukihime Akatsuki that Captain Sui Feng had asked me to look for?" I asked him.

"Well, we had met her a few times when she returned to the real world through a senkaimon in the air. So we have picked her up and dropped her off and stuff, but we know just about the same as Captain Sui Feng." He replied holding his hat down over his face.

I smiled. They were about to get the shock of their lives.

"Well, what if I tell you that I know more about her than any of you, including where she is right now and the reason for her disappearance 6 years ago?" I said smirking. I looked at Uryu and my sibling. They were all smirking at the reactions of our guests.

"How exactly do you know her?" Yoroichi asked. There was a hesitation in her voice. She seemed almost scared to know.

I just smirked again. Then I decided to call Himera down.

"Hime…. Come down here will you!" I shouted. I saw Raiden almost laugh when our guests just looked at me wondering why I didn't answer their question. But I believe they will probably be more surprised about the fact that their answer was coming right to them. My sister, Himera.

I heard footsteps on the staircase. I saw Kira run into the living room first and straight to Raiden's lap. Then following him came Himera, dressed in her favourite black dress. The look on the faces of Urahara and the other 2 guests was priceless.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! if anyone has any questions please ask me through private messaging or reviews. I'll be happy to answer them. Also, just a small note, secrets and lies will be a 4 part section of the story due to having a lot of concepts to explain. if anyone finds any errors in the story please do let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Happy reading:)

Name list:

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Jushiro Kusanagi – Rowan cross**

 **Sarah Cross –Saya Kusanagi (wife of Jushiro and mother of Ichigo, Uryu, Himera/Desiree, Asami/Lisa, Asagi/Lina)**

 **Ishiin Kurosaki – Ishiin Kusanagi – Ivan Cross (younger brother of Jushiro)**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Japanese last name to be revealed later) (younger brother of Sarah)**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ichigo Kusanagi – Ian cross**

 **Uryu Ishida – Uryu Kusanagi – Josh cross**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – Himera Kusanagi**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Asami Kusanagi**

 **Lina Melissa cross – Asagi Kusanagi**

 **Noah Knight – Raiden (Last name will be revealed later)**

 **Sia Archer-Cross - Suzuna Nura-Kusanagi (daughter of Ryuken, mother of Kira)**

 **Kyle Cross - Kazuki Kusanagi (son of Ishiin, father of Kira)**

 **Kira Kusanagi - (English name to be revealed)**


	7. Secrets and lies (part 3)

Chapter 7 – Secrets and lies part 3

(Urahara POV)

Ichigo called out to his little sister. I heard footsteps on the staircase. A little boy of about 5 years ran into the living room. His black hair and blue eyes made him a perfect mix of Ishiin and Ryuken. This boy was probably Ryuken and Ishiin's grandson Kira. But the girl who followed him was the one that caused me to almost get a heart attack.

A tall girl, almost as tall as Ichigo and Uryu walked into the room. She had deep blue eyes and skin like snow. She had maroon hair that hung lose all the way to her knees. She was a beauty beyond compare. But what shocked me more, was who she looked like. I had not seen her in 6 years. But she looked almost the same, except a little taller and older.

I was staring at the one and only, Yukihime Akatsuki.

(Ichigo POV)

There was an uneasy silence in the room. Almost 10 minutes had passed since Himera arrived in the living room. Now she was sitting beside Raiden, with a sleeping Kira whose head was on her lap and legs were on Raiden's.

Suddenly, as though he had snapped out of a daze, Urahara spoke up.

"Are you really Yukihime Akatsuki?" he asked. His eyes stared at her scrutinizing every inch of her face to make sure she was real.

"After 10 minutes, that's the best thing you can come up with to ask me?" Himera returned in a cocky tone.

This shocked the guests who had always known Yukihime as a very shy and polite girl who didn't know the first think about back talking to people. Himera had maintained that persona in the soul society. It made it easier for her to hide in the real world.

"To answer your questions, yes, I am really the girl you know as Yukihime Akatsuki, but as you all may have guessed already, that's not my real identity. Yukihime Akatsuki is an identity I created when I got transported to the soul society." Himera answered.

"But why couldn't you just tell them your real name?" Tessai asked her.

"From a very young age, every member of the Kusanagi family is made to memorise this one fact. We must never tell anyone who we really are, unless they already know, like Raiden and his family. We are all the same. So I never had to hide anything from him." Himera answered.

"Miss Akatsuki, if you don't mind my asking… all your siblings have already told us about their tribrid and hybrid abilities. What's yours?" Urahara asked her. There was a hesitation in his voice that suggested that he had doubts if that was an ok question to ask.

"I don't mind really. We are already telling you our life story. So there is nothing to hide…." She paused. But before she could continue, Asagi cut in.

"Actually before you tell them, I think it's best if we explain certain circumstances." She stated. Himera nodded in agreement and so Asagi continued.

"We have already explained the concept of hybrids and tribrids. But you must understand, that these have always been the limit in our family. No one in the world can have more than 3 abilities. It just doesn't happen. But there was an exception. About 500 years ago, an ancestor of ours, Yukina Kusanagi was born with the ability to control all 4 abilities. She was considered the most powerful hunter of all time, gaining her the name "Queen of Hunters". A lot of the supernatural creatures, hunters and other species alike, started to become her devotees. Most were sane devotees who understood the real meaning behind Yukina's actions and words of wisdom. But there were some who were radical believers. They took Yukina's words to a whole new level. When she died, there was a prophecy passed down through our family that she would be reincarnated when evil was close to obtaining dominance over the worlds. After her death, these radical followers started to go on rampages in an attempt to find a way to get her back. There still are many followers of Yukina in this day and age." She finished.

"Which brings us to my abilities. I… am the reincarnation of Yukina Kusanagi. I possess all 4 abilities of the hunters. But this time, I'm much stronger than when I was Yukina. My abilities are almost 10 times stronger. By the time I was about 6 years old, people had started flocking our house in an attempt to 'awaken' me as Yukina Kusanagi. What they didn't know was that I was born with all the memories of my life as Yukina Kusanagi. It honestly makes my heart ache to see people taking out a wrong meaning of my words and participating in twisted schemes so they could be by Himera's side. They claimed to be working towards one of the goals I had wanted to achieve when I was living as Yukina. But the truth is, they just want to be able to become stronger, and they believe that they can achieve that by being by my side." Himera explained.

"But how did people find out you were Yukina Kusanagi's incarnation?" Yoroichi questioned.

"It's my hair…" Himera replied.

"Your hair? How did that help them identify you?" Urahara questioned.

I looked at Tessai. He was continuously looking form Himera to Uryu to the twins and then to me and mom. He must have figured it out.

"Well, Tessai… care to explain your theory to us?" I asked him.

"Well… I believe your hair gave away that you were Yukina Kusanagi's incarnation because your hair is a different colour from that of your siblings and mother. From seeing master Uryu's and your twin sister's hair colour, I am guessing your father has black hair as well. So that would make miss Himera's maroon hair an anomaly." Tessai explained.

"You are correct. No one in our family has ever had maroon hair except for 2 people. Yukina and me. That's how people found out I was the reincarnation of Yukina." Himera explained.

"But all this does not explain your sudden disappearance 6 years ago?" Yoroichi exclaimed. I could tell she was upset. It was probably because she say how Captain Sui Feng had become after Himera and disappeared from their lives.

I noticed urahara have a light bulb moment. He had figured out the reason for Himera's disappearance.

"It's because of the fire that killed yours and Mister Yotsuba's families isn't it?" he asked us, a grim expression crossed his face.

"Yes. Our family and the Yotsuba family were having a party of sorts. My husband and I, along with my 2 sons and the twins stepped out to discuss a particular matter that we didn't want Himera to worry about. Raiden had noticed this and came out of the house behind us to find out what had happened. And at that moment, a conflagration broke out in the house. The place was burning down quickly." Mom narrated. She started to tear up, remembering the incident. So Uryu decided to continue instead.

"Hime was stuck inside the house along with the rest of the 2 families. We screamed and shouted for any survivors. The only one we could tell was alive was Hime. So mom and the twins tried performing a water spell. But the fire didn't get extinguished. It was cause by witchcraft. So only a powerful spell could stop it. Ordinary water was not going to cut it." Uryu paused to let the guests digest the information. I noticed him glance at Himera. It was difficult not to miss the expression of guilt on her face.

"Dad ran into the house to look for Hime. He used a protective barrier to stop the fire from reaching him. When he found Hime, she was crouched in a corner, flames surrounding her. She was in complete shock at the situation."

"We don't know the details and neither Hime nor dad like to talk about it. But he managed to get her out of the house. After that we had to just let the house burn down."

"After that…" Himera cut in.

"I'll go check on the dinner preparations." She stated and walked out of the living room. It was always hard for her to hear this story.

"I'm guessing from the way your sister just walked out that the incident affected her at lot more than she is letting on?" Urahara questioned.

"It did. After the incident, Hime started to feel guilty about being the only survivor or the fire. She keeps beating herself up stating that if she hadn't frozen from shock, she would have been able to save at least a few people of not all. She especially blames herself that she couldn't save even one member of Raiden's family. She blames herself for making him and orphan." Uryu finished.

"She tends to forget, that I was never an orphan after that incident. I had all of these guys and they became my family. Uncle Shiro became my dad, aunt Saya my mom, the twins and the boys my siblings, Kira like a son, and most importantly, I found my soulmate in Hime." He stated.

"Well, after the fire, Hime wasn't the same anymore. There was something that happened in the fire other than her freezing up. Whatever it was made her determined to make our family reach the top 3 list for the richest people in the world. When we asked her why she wanted us there in that list, she said and I quote 'Money and fear the main sources of power in this world. Respect and loyalty don't exist as much these days. If we need to be powerful in this world, the only way is to become the richest of all.' We didn't find out what it was until about a year ago. During the day of the fire Hime had seen someone who wasn't supposed to be there. She had seen the face of the culprit." Raiden finished.

"Who was he? Did you catch him?" we didn't. But Hime knew who he was the moment she saw him the day of the fire. And his identity is what made her obsess over making us more rich and powerful." Raiden commented.

"But if she hadn't told anyone anything, how did you find out?" Yoroichi asked.

"About a year ago, during the filming of one of Hime's English films, she spotted him. She chased after him, but didn't manage to catch him. Then when she came home that day, she broke down and explained everything. The guy was a rival or rather an enemy of our family. He was also the 10th richest billionaire in the world. He was a hunter like us and envied our families for possessing the powers we did. He especially wanted Hime dead, because he wanted to be the most powerful hunter of all. After our deaths with some witchcraft, a hunter can draw on the powers of hunters who were dead. That was his plan." Asami stated in an angry tone. The whole subject made us all very angry. He had tried to kill our little sister after all.

"But I assume you didn't let any such thing happen." Tessai asked.

"We waited till the fire died out and used an ancient spell passed down through the 2 families. It allowed us to seal the powers of any dead members of our family so no one could harness them." Asagi explained.

"But if he wanted to prove to every other hunter and supernatural specie in the world that he was the strongest hunter, wouldn't it have made a bigger statement if he had slaughtered the entire family instead of burning them and making it look like an accident?" Urahara questioned.

"It's because since my generation started, every member of the 2 families was born immortal. So there were very limited ways in which we could die. Those include being burnt, decapitation with a silver object, inflicting fatal wounds using a silver object, and specific diseases that were tailor made to counter our body's very powerful immune system. Of these as you ca already guess, burning us is the easiest." Mom replied.

"If you don't mind my asking, how old are you and your husband exactly?" Yoroichi asked mom.

"I don't mind, really. And to answer your question, my husband and I are of the same age. We are both 489 years old." Mom concluded.

"And your kids?" Urahara asked curiously.

"They are all the age they said they are. Uryu is 29, Ichigo 28, the twins are 25, and Raiden and Hime are 22." Mom explained.

"I apologise ahead of time if I'm stepping out of line with this question, but have you not had any children before the 5 of them?" Yoroichi asked referring to us 5 siblings.

"Don't worry, it's only natural to wonder. And we did call you here to explain things and clear any questions you may have. Yes, I did have children before the 5 of them. About 200 years ago, I had a 3 sons and 3 daughters before them. But due to wars between supernatural creatures as well as enemy hunter out to get our powers, none of them lived beyond the age of 7. After that I didn't have it in me to lose any more children. But when the 20th century arrived, I noticed the world changing, and I had a dream, courtesy of or ancestors, telling me that, by god's will, I will have 5 children who will prove to be stronger than any of the hunters the world has seen before, and that one of my daughters would be a much more powerful reincarnation of lady Yukina. They said that she will become the saviour of all species from the forces of evil." Mom explained.

Just then Himera walked into the living room.

"Everyone, dinner's ready. So how about we continue this conversation at the dinner table." She instructed. She guided our guests to the dining room were a wide spread of Japanese food was laid out. And once everyone was seated, dinner was served.

 **A/N: Hope you liked the chapter. More secrets to be revealed in the next and final part of Secrets and lies. Enjoy reading.**

 **Name list:**

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Jushiro Kusanagi – rowan cross**

 **Sarah Cross –Saya Kusanagi (wife of Jushiro and mother of Ichigo, Uryu, Himera/Desiree, Asami/Lisa, Asagi/Lina)**

 **Ishiin Kurosaki – Ishiin Kusanagi – Ivan Cross (younger brother of Jushiro)**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Japanese last name to be revealed later) (younger brother of sarah)**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ichigo Kusanagi – Ian cross**

 **Uryu Ishida – Uryu Kusanagi – Josh cross**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – Himera Kusanagi**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Asami Kusanagi**

 **Lina Melissa cross – Asagi Kusanagi**

 **Noah Knight – Raiden Yotsuba**

 **Kyle Cross – Kazuki Kusanagi (Father of Kira, son of Ishiin, cousin of the cross/Kusanagi siblings)**

 **Sia Archer-Cross – Suzuna Nura-Kusanagi (mother of Kira, daughter of Ryuken, cousin of the cross/Kusanagi siblings)**

 **Kira Kusanagi- (English name to be revealed)**


	8. Secrets and lies (Part 4)

Chapter 8 –Secrets and lies (part 4)

(Ichigo POV)

Dinner started out very quiet. But a few bites into the food, and our guests were praising the food as through it had taken them straight to heaven. I noticed a smile play its way onto Himera's face as she watched them dramatically talk about how good the food was. I was glad to see her smiling again.

Just then, a guard walked into the dining room. He apologised for the intrusion and requested to have a word with Himera to which mom nodded an ok.

The guard whispered something into Himera's ears and she whispered something like instructions back to him, and he left immediately.

Yoroichi, I had noticed was watching the exchange very carefully and something seemed to suddenly hit her, for she broke the silence.

"I had heard a rumour about your family not being originally from this world, that you were some very important family from an alternate world or something. Is that true?" Yoroichi asked no one in specific.

"Yes, it's true. We are originally from a parallel world, the kingdom of Kandrakar. We are the royal family of Kandrakar. Our ancestors had been provided with the ability to travel to earth to help maintain peace and balance. It's the job of the Kandrakar royal family to maintain this balance in every generation." Mom explained.

"What about the other hunter families?" Urahara continued.

"Well, most are noble families of Kandrakar. At least, those Hunters who are not against us are. But Kandrakar is connected to other worlds, and hunters from all those worlds come to Kandrakar and use a portal we have there to come to earth. Most are good and are working towards maintaining the power balance on earth. But there are others who fight to gain more power and overthrow us. They want to take over Kandrakar and rule it in our place. Those hunters, especially the guy who killed our families 6 years ago, will do almost anything to attain power over us. Even if it means killing innocent people or their own flesh and blood." Uncle Ryuken replied in a bitter tone. He hated the man responsible for taking our family away from us.

"So that would make you, Mrs. Kusanagi, the queen of Kandrakar, right?" Yoroichi asked.

Mom nodded. "There I'm go by my English name, Sarah Elizabeth Cross. Everyone goes by their English names there." She stated.

"But there is something else to my name there that we haven't told you all about yet." Himera stated.

"Oh… and what might that be?" Urahara asked, intrigued by the seriousness in Himera's voice.

"Well, in Kandrakar, everyone know me not as Desiree Kyra Cross, but instead by a different name." She answered grimly.

"Why is that?" Tessai joined in.

"Well, the truth is, that Uryu is not my eldest child in this generation. My eldest was my daughter, Desiree Kyra Cross. Hime's real English name is Defiance Destiny Cross, not Desiree." Mom explained.

"But why would you use your older sister's name instead of your own?" Yoroichi persisted.

Himera put her fork on her plate. The clanging sound drew everyone's attention to her.

"She's dead because of me, that's why." She said in an angry tone. Uryu who was sitting beside her put his hand on hers and told her to calm down.

Once she was calm again, she began to explain the situation.

"When I was born, it was prophesised that I would be the reincarnation of Yukina Kusanagi, who was better known in Kandrakar as Yeva Cross. And even though it had been kept a secret, my hair colour as I mentioned earlier let our enemies figure it out. So, many enemies started to attack our kingdom in an attempt to get me and hence my powers for themselves. My older sister protected me from all the invaders. She brought all of us to earth and lived with us while mom, dad, and all the adults fought off the enemies."

"During that time, our sister Desiree would protect us from enemies on earth. But she was using up too much power in doing so. She managed to survive till I turned7. But about a week after my birthday, she died. Mom, dad and the other adults arrived a day after she died and couldn't save her. She was dear to everyone. Everyone cried their hearts out at her funeral. I was the one responsible for her death. So I decided to give them back their beloved Desiree. So legally according to the laws on earth, I changed my name to that of my sisters. But in Kandrakar, I go by my real name. Here, no one really knew about our sister. So I'm the only Desiree Kyra Cross who exists in records." Himera concluded.

"Ok. I think all doubts have been cleared, except one… Yuki, I mean miss Himera, who is your father. You said he was a soul reaper. If he was a substitute soul reaper, we would know. But as far as we know, Ichigo is the only substitute soul reaper at present. So who is your father?" Tessai asked. Yoroichi and Urahara nodded their heads in agreement.

"I can't believe they are so slow in figuring that out. I thought it was obvious who dad was. I mean, in order for him to make things happen the way we need them to, and the fact that uncle Ishiin was a captain level soul reaper in the 13 court guard squads, I thought it was pretty obvious who he could possibly be!" Asami said amused.

"Ok. So we are slow on the intake. Can you just tell us who he is?" Urahara asked as politely as he could.

"How about we do it this way, we'll give you a few hints and you decide who the hints represent most. Ok?" Asagi and Asami said in unison. Their twin unison behaviour is something that always brings a smile to my face.

Our guests nodded in agreement. They actually had no choice but to comply if they ever wanted to find out who dad was.

"Well, first hint, he is one of the oldest members of the 13 court guard squads." Asami stated, lifting her index finger to count 1.

"Second clue, he is the sweetest high ranking officer of the 13 court guard squads." Asagi continued, counting 2 with her fingers.

"Do we get a third clue?" Urahara asked playfully. He was enjoying the twin's game. I could see them getting along well. They were actually very similar. They can be very childish and playful at times. But when matters get serious, they become deadly.

"No third clue. Though we would like to know who you suspect it is." Asagi said in a mocking tone.

"Well, the oldest male members of the squads would be the head captain, Captain Kyoroku, Captain Ukitake and the male members of the royal guard. But from the way you describe him, I'm guessing that he is still a part of the squads. That narrows it down to 3 people."

"Then you said he was the sweetest person in the high ranking officers. That easily removes the head captain from the list. Leaving behind Captain Kyoroku and Captain Ukitake. But who is it between them?" Urahara analysed.

"May I tell you my answer?" Tessai asked politely.

"Of course, please do answer." The twins prompted him.

"Well I believe that your father is…" all of us looked at him intently, waiting for his answer.

"Captain Jushiro Ukitake." He said.

"You got it right. So Mr. Tessai gets the special dessert hand made by Hime." The twins stated joyfully.

"Your Captain Ukitake's kids! No wonder you have such good manners." Urahara stated surprised.

"But I was on the verge if saying it was Captain Kyoroku. How did you now it was Captain Ukitake, Tessai?" Yoroichi asked looking in Tessai's direction.

"It's actually very obvious if you think about it. Master Ishiin was a captain and he was very close to both Captain Kyoroku and Captain Ukitake. But if anyone had noticed clearly, he trusted Captain Ukitake more that Captain Kyoroku. This was evident in all the times in the years we were there. Captain Kyoroku would often complain about how master Ishiin would always tell secrets to Captain Ukitake and never share them with him. Although he never meant it seriously, but its sure evidence that they knew something that he didn't. Also, the way these children before us behave, especially Miss Himera, her manners, her attitude towards those older than her, it all points to captain Ukitake. Of course at first I thought it was because of her status as the princess of the kingdom of Kandrakar, but that behaviour put together with their appearance and physical features especially master Uryu's and the Twin's black hair, it told me that their father had to have black hair. As we all know, captain Kyoroku has brown hair. But captain Jushiro had black hair before the disease caused it to turn white." He explained.

"Well, I'll admit, it does make it see very obvious now that I think about it." Yoroichi stated.

"One more thing though. I'm curious to know your professions in your real lives. I mean I know what the news and magazines say. But I want to get a clearer understanding." Urahara stated.

"Well, we originally just possessed ancestral wealth. But when Hime started us up with the business, we began with a music studio and production company, then we expanded to the fashion world, the pharmaceuticals industry, the food industry, hotel industry and finally we set up a whole series of hospitals that cater to both humans as well as supernatural creatures, hunters as well as other 'good' species of supernatural creatures if we can call them that. So over all it's the Cross group of companies. The boys work as co-CEOs. The girls work in the fashion side. My husband and I are the heads of the group. Hime works in all the areas. She is the only one in the family with expertise in all the fields. But otherwise, Hime is a model, fashion designer, singer, song writer, composer, and actress. She helps out in the hospital and restaurants from time to time when she is free. But of course it's behind the scenes. No one outside of the family and the staff of the hospitals and restaurants know about it. But that's only the day jobs. Our night jobs are slightly different. Most normal people don't know about it." Mom explained.

"What do you mean? What is your night job exactly?" Yoroichi asked I could tell that she was close to putting the pieces into place.

"Well, our night job includes our hunter lives. But it's not just that. Uryu, Hime and I work for the CIA, the intelligence agency in America. We are spies, basically. Dad and uncle Ishiin used to work as a CIA spies, then slowly they got promoted to higher posts. Then the three of us joined in. we rose in the ranks very quickly and soon we created a new division, that we head, that worked to eradicate the so-called 'evil' hunters and supernatural creatures. Himera is our best spy. But on top of that, she works on her own as well. She terminates people who pose a threat to the general public." I explained further.

"So, she's an assassin?" Yoroichi asked.

"Not just any assassin. She is the world's top ranking assassin, but the only one not on the blacklists or hit lists of any government. This is because she only kills people who she deems are threats to the society. She is usually contacted through a secure channel she developed. The name of the target is given to her. She will investigate him thoroughly, enough to be able to read his mind. If she deems him a threat to the masses, she will eliminate him. But is he is not a threat, she will relay that information to the sender of the target. So, no one has or ever will be able to use Hime to wrongly kill someone. And that's why her name stays off hit lists till this date." Uryu explained.

"That that would mean that Miss Himera is good at combat. As far as I know, Yukihime Akatsuki was said to be an excellent strategist, but a very poor fighter." Urahara asked almost shocked out of his skin.

I smiled. The really are slow in the up take.

"Himera has always been excellent at combat, both hand-to-hand as well as with weapons. Hell she can beat the whole 13 squads with all the captains and lieutenants, you guys, the 4 of us, mom, dad, and uncle Ryuken and Ishiin put together." I exclaimed.

"You praise me too much Ryo." Himera told me, suing my middle name as she hit me in the arm playfully.

"What about you, master Raiden, what is your profession?" Tessai asked Raiden.

"Well, my job is very similar to theirs." He said indicating to us.

"I have a business running that uncle Shiro and Aunty Saya help me with from time to time. We are actually thinking of making it a joint venture soon. The Cross-Knight Group of companies. I, like them, have a company in the music production industry, as well as the finance industry. I also have a law firm that works to provide equal legal counsel for the less economically well-off people. I also have an investment and hedge fund business and a tech company. And I head them all with a little help and advice from everyone here. To top it all off I happen to be a singer, actor and composer-lyricist."

"And do you have a night job as well?" Urahara asked him.

Raiden smiled.

"Of course I do. Do you really think I would let my fiancé work in such a dangerous situation on her own? I am also an assassin. Hime and I together are called 'Strike team Alpha'. We are considered a legendary team of assassins with skills to match any genius in the world in any playing field, or so I'm told. And just so you know, Hime and I were best friends before we fell in love, so I was always by her side. We joined the CIA together, and thanks to our position as the top rich people in the world, well, people can't do anything to hurt us. That is also because of the fact that Ishiin is the director of the CIA!"

"Well, that, I did not see coming. Ishiin. The director of the CIA! That is quite the shocking news." Yoroichi commented wide eyed as the news was revealed to her

"I think now that all our doubts have been cleared, we need to decide on something important." Urahara sated in a serious tone.

"I'm guessing you prefer not to be found by the soul society, correct, Miss Himera?" Urahara asked Himera.

"Yes. So it would be good if you don't tell anyone. Also I think we need to come up with a backup plan in case someone from the soul society does find me and recognize me. I came up with 2 possible stories that could work as my cover. One is the Amnesia direction. I got attacked by the hollow, and got injured in the head. When I woke up I didn't remember anything an every time I tried to remember, I would be dangerous to my health." Himera explained.

"What's the other angle?" Yoroichi asked her.

"Well, it was the twin sister/ doppelganger idea. But I found a lot of flaws in it." Himera explained.

"Your right. In the latter story, if you were to slip any intimate detail, they will catch your lie immediately. I think the amnesia is the better one. Even if she slips a detail it could be like she remembered something. So it will be easier to manage the situation. But the thing I'm concerned about is, if the situation arises, how are you going to explain the connection between Ichigo and 'Yukihime Akatsuki'?" Urahara returned.

"Well, since they think I'm only 16 years old, I could say that since I had been told that my 'aunt' Saya had lived in Karakura town during that time, I thought she might now something. And so when I explain the whole story that Captain Sui Feng told me, my 'aunt' tells me that my cousin 'Yuki' and 'Yukihime Akatsuki' are one and the same, and that she had lost her memories when she injured herself in a hollow attack 6 years ago. So she forgot everything from before the attack and only remembered her basic identity." I said.

"I think that will work. Man you guys really are good at covering your tracks aren't you!" Urahara commented.

"We're kinda used to doing it I guess. That's all." Himera states.

After that, dinner went on with small conversations as Himera tried to grasp the details of everything that had happened in the 6 years she had been away.

Promising to keep the details divulged to them today a secret, our guests left to. And with that a tiring day came to an end.

 **A/N:**

 **Hope the chapter is to everyone's satisfaction and explains all the necessary details. If you have any doubts about the backgrounds explained in this 4 part chapter, please message me on private messaging. And please do review. It really is a confidence booster. Constructive criticism is also appreciated.**

 **Name List:**

 **Jushiro Ukitake – Jushiro Kusanagi – rowan cross**

 **Sarah Cross –Saya Kusanagi (wife of Jushiro and mother of Ichigo, Uryu, Himera/Desiree, Asami/Lisa, Asagi/Lina)**

 **Ishiin Kurosaki – Ishiin Kusanagi – Ivan Cross (younger brother of Jushiro)**

 **Ryuken Ishida – Seff Archer (Japanese last name to be revealed later) (younger brother of sarah)**

 **Ichigo kurosaki – Ichigo Kusanagi – Ian cross**

 **Uryu Ishida – Uryu Kusanagi – Josh cross**

 **Desiree Kyra cross – Himera Kusanagi – Defiance Destiny Cross**

 **Desiree Kyra Cross – Oldest of the cross siblings; deceased (name adopted by Himera/ Defiance)**

 **Lisa Mary cross – Asami Kusanagi**

 **Lina Melissa cross – Asagi Kusanagi**

 **Noah Knight – Raiden Yotsuba**

 **Sia Archer-Cross – Suzuna Nura-Kusanagi (daughter of Ryuken, mother of Kira)**

 **Kyle Cross – Kazuki Kusanagi (son of Ishiin, father of Kira)**

 **Kira Kusanagi – (English name to be revealed) (nephew of the siblings and son of Kyle and Sia)**


End file.
